


Andrew and Angels

by lucifersshroud



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-09-28
Updated: 2012-09-28
Packaged: 2017-11-15 05:27:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,252
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/523655
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lucifersshroud/pseuds/lucifersshroud
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A boy meets a strange, raggedy man at a bus stop. Normally sounds like the start of a horror film, and even though some of Andrew's trip with the Doctor is filled with horror, in the end he is merely grateful.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Andrew and Angels

**Author's Note:**

> So, now that Moffat's running the show, we're never going to get a decent LGBT+ character. Seasons 5/6 they've just been used as the butt of jokes, so I decided to write my own fic involving a trans man that is NOT simply the butt of a joke or used to be "quirky" or "fun" as Moffat describes queer people.

**Andrew and Angels**

“You’ve got until tomorrow morning to pack whatever you can into whatever you can carry. Then you leave, and you don’t come back unless you’ve come to your senses, you hear?”

                “But Mum--”

                “No buts. This is something I can’t forgive.” I threw my hands up.

                “It’s not like I asked to be this way! It’s just how I am! Why can’t you accept that?!” Now she was crying too. As if she even had the right.

                “Because you’re not. God made you into a beautiful young woman, and that’s what you are. You can’t just decide that you’re not one day because of some silly feelings that’ll probably go away if you simply let me take you to therapy, or to church aga--”

                “Piss off, mum. Just piss off. I’ll be gone in the morning. I hate you. I absolutely _hate_ you.” She and I shared astonished looks. I was just as startled at my response as she was. I had my resolve back in but a moment, though, and continued simply glaring at her.

                “You don’t…mean that.” She all but whispered.

                I never faltered. Never changed my venomous expression, never trembled, never even blinked. Inside, though, I was completely taken aback. I meant it. I meant every single word. There was no doubt in my mind about my pure unadulterated hatred of the woman standing in front of me.

                “I do, Mother. I honestly, truly do.” I replied in the same hushed tone.

                She whimpered, looked at me with the most pathetic eyes I’d ever seen, then quickly regained herself. She frowned, her brow furrowed and she spoke in a hard, yet still trembling tone. “Then get out of my house. By tomorrow. Or I will throw you out.”

                We nodded at each other, and we were off. She to her bedroom, I to my own.

                I packed essentials. A few pairs of clothes, toiletries, and my laptop. I decided to leave that night. Wasn’t really any point in having some big send off or anything like that. Nah, better I thought to simply leave undetected. So, I grabbed my bag and went out the window. It led right out to the front yard, so I didn’t make much noise. No one woke up. No one knew I was gone yet.

                I looked back one more time, took a deep breath, and ventured out into whatever new life had just been thrown at me.

 

 

 

 

                “I’m completely out of money, man. I just need a few bucks for some food, please. Promise I’ll pay you back as soon as I get on my feet.” I hated begging my friends for anything, money especially, but it’d been two days since I last had any food, and I was starting to grow weaker. My friend sighed and shook his head.

                “Sorry, mate. Can’t give you any more money. Dad’s already been suspecting where my money’s gone, can’t do it anymore. Maybe try going to the shelter or something.” With that, he gave me a sympathetic look and a door in my face.

                I didn’t have it in me to be angry at him. He had a perfectly reasonable point. He’d been sneaking money to me for weeks so I could eat, but apparently my dear old mum made it perfectly clear to all of my friends’ parents that if they were seen with me or had anything to do with me, they’d be charged for kidnapping, and she’d throw me right back out again once I was brought back to her house and the parents involved in the “kidnapping” were charged. Honestly, the only reason I hadn’t been going to the shelter in the first place was because I didn’t want to admit to myself that I had nowhere else to go. That I had literally nothing left. That I was completely and utterly on my own. Didn’t seem as if I had a choice at the time, though, so I scavenged around for a while, finding enough change on the ground for bus fare downtown, sat at the bus stop, and waited. I looked at my watch and frowned. I’d just missed it, so I had to wait an hour before another one came. I sighed. Not as if I had much better to do anyway.

                As I was waiting, a peculiar man sat next to me. His face was covered with what looked to be mud and…I wasn’t sure, some strange blue substance I’d never seen before, not even on the internet (and trust me, I’d seen a lot of crazy stuff on the internet). His hair was long and all over the place also covered in mud (maybe?) and whatever that blue stuff was. His tweed jacket was rumpled and stained in strange places. His bow tie was crooked, and one of his suspenders it seemed had been clipped right off.  Worst of all, his trousers appeared to have been ripped off. Well, half of them. I could tell he was wearing dress pants, but someone (or something) had turned them into dress shorts incredibly crudely. But what was most peculiar of all was the strange device he was fiddling with. It was shaped like a screwdriver, but it was glowing green and making the weirdest sound. It must’ve meant something to him, though because he kept smacking it against his hand saying things like, “Aw come on!” “No, that’s not what I wanted!” No doubt he didn’t even realize I was there. Not until I’d started having another one of my infamous sneeze attacks. One, two, three, four later and my nose was still itching like mad.

                The man didn’t look over at me until the fifth (when it stopped, thankfully). I had a few tissues out and was cleaning up the damage when he started speaking.

                “Oh good lord, I must look a mess. I’m so sorry, I didn’t see anyone here!” I honestly had no idea how to respond, so I shrugged.

                “’s all right.” I said, throwing my tissues in the bin beside the bench. “No one sees me.” He stopped everything he was doing then, and looked at me with the saddest eyes I’d ever seen.

                “What d’ya mean no one sees you?” he asked. I shrugged again.

                “Well, I mean, people don’t notice me.” I said. He leaned in a bit closer gazing at me intently and I tensed up.

                “Why not?” Another shrug, more hunched over this time, though.

                “Not really one to be noticed.” I said. He scoffed and abruptly went back to his work with the glowing screwdriver device.

                “Nonsense, I’ve noticed you now, haven’t I? Well, technically I’m not people though.” he rambled. I relaxed a bit.

                “What’dya mean, not technically people?” I asked him. He smiled at me.

                “I mean, I’m not really a person. Well, I am, but not by your definition.”

                “I still don’t understand.” He laughed, to my surprise. Laughed loud and long before turning to me, still smiling.

                “Humans never stop intriguing me.” All instinct told me to run away from this nutter right then and there, but something held me back. Wasn’t sure what, whether it was curiosity or simply the fact that I had nowhere else to go, was holding me back, but whatever it was kept me sitting right next to this guy.

                “Are you taking the piss?” He actually looked _offended._

                “What, no! No, of course not! I’m just being honest. You humans are always so fascinating. It’s why I keep coming back here. And you know, I always seem to come back in the middle of a mess!” he exclaimed, gesturing to his generally raggedy dirty appearance. “Never done with saving you.”

                I simply gaped at him, unable to say a word for the longest time. He didn’t seem to mind, though, just kept fiddling around with his screwdriver. “Wh…Are you on any drugs?” I finally asked. Seemed to be the next logical thing to ask. At this, he put down his screwdriver again and turned to me with a sigh.

                “What’s your name?” he asked. I hesitated then decided there was no harm in at least giving out my first name.

                “Andrew.”

                “Okay, Andrew, here’s what I have to say. No, I’m not ‘taking the piss,’ and I’m not on any drugs. I’m an alien. A creature from another world.” I couldn’t stop myself. I burst out laughing. He started to look all offended again, which caused me to laugh even harder. The lack of food had my head spinning from the force of laughing so bloody hard my ribs hurt, but I could not stop.

                “What’s so funny?!” he demanded. I caught my breath just in time to start up again.

                “Really? You have to ask? You, mate! Alien, that’s bloody brilliant that is! Man, this is the first real laugh I’ve had in ages!” He stopped looking hurt and started to smile again. He stood up from the bus stop, never taking his eyes off me. It should’ve been unnerving, but it was actually very comforting. I stopped laughing.

                “I can prove it to you if you want.” he said. I contemplated my options. I could go off with this whack job, probably get myself killed, but have the most interesting experience of the past few weeks, or I could tell him to stay away from me and simply wait for the bus to take me to the shelter. I figured I didn’t have much to live for anyway, so I stood up with him.

                “Can you now?” I asked. He nodded and motioned for me to follow him as he started off towards some back alley. _Yep, definitely gonna get myself killed,_ I thought. And with that, I took off after him.

                “Yes I can. I’ll show you my spaceship!” he exclaimed. I shook my head and laughed a bit, quietly so he wouldn’t hear me, and ignored every single voice in my head screaming about how stupid it was of me to be trailing him in the first place.

                “All right, mate.” I said. We walked for about another minute before he came to a stop right outside a small blue police box. I’d only ever seen pictures of those in history books, but never actually saw one in person. I thought maybe someone just didn’t tear it down, but it looked way too new to be from the sixties. The strange man patted it, almost affectionately.

                “This is my ship. It’s called the TARDIS. It can travel in all of time and space.” I couldn’t have another laugh attack. I just let out a sort of disbelieving whimper.

                “This is a police box.” I corrected. He smirked and snapped his fingers. The door clicked open. He motioned for me to step inside. I hesitated. Was this really how I wanted to die? Trapped in a police box with a guy who thought himself an alien? As if sensing my discomfort, he backed away from the box with his hands up. Didn’t do much to calm my worries, but hey, even if I did run away, he’d probably catch up considering my lack of food. Might as well skip the struggle part.

                I took a deep breath, gathered what little bearings I had, and stepped inside. Stepped being the key word because as soon as I had a foot in the door, I was shouting and running out, pure shock written all over my face. _No way, no friggin’ way. No. Way._ I kept thinking that to myself as I walked in a circle around the small box. I looked over at this man who I wasn’t so sure was insane anymore and he just looked absolutely chuffed, as if Christmas had come early.

                “Right then, it’s about supper time on this side of the world, so you’re probably hungry, right?” This man…alien said. I managed a few words.

                “I…I…yeah…starving.” _I haven’t eaten in two days._

                “Well, go back on inside and I can take you wherever you’d like to eat, anywhere in the universe! My treat.” He was completely animated, grinning ear to ear. I gave him my first real smile.

                “…Really?” I was having trouble speaking. Words came out more as…squeaks, to be honest. He laughed and nodded.

                “Yeah, go on!” he exclaimed. Hesitantly, I made my way back inside the blue box. I found myself astounded by the size again, wondering how in the world a place like this was possible.

                “It’s bigger on the inside. How’s it bigger on the inside?” I asked, awestruck, eyes struggling to stay in one place for long before becoming captivated by some other design or mechanism. The man actually giggled a bit.

                “Yes, it is, but explaining how is all a bunch of spacey wacey jumble you won’t understand.” he replied. I laughed again, breathlessly.

                “So…what’s your name then?” I asked, just realizing I’d never asked.

                “I’m the Doctor.” I frowned.

                “Doctor what?” A sort of haunted look came over his features for a moment, but it left was soon as it came.

                “Just the Doctor. Now then,” he trailed off, bouncing over to what seemed to be the…motherboard(?) of the machine and started pulling levers and pressing buttons frantically, “When and where would you like to go to eat? I can take you anywhere and any time period. One condition: It has to be amazing.”

                I could hardly contain my excitement. There was no way this was possible. Anywhere in the universe and at any point in time? That wasn’t possible, and if it was, surely no one would waste time showing it all to someone like me. I took a deep breath and shrugged.

                “Um, I don’t really know. I…I want chips. Can we at least go somewhere with chips? Haven’t had any for weeks now.” I said, not really knowing where the sudden craving spurred from, but going with it.

                Suddenly the Doctor had a hard, distant look, as if remembering something he’d buried under lock and key in a dark part of his mind he was nearly convinced was completely gone. Just as suddenly, though, he was back to grinning and nodding.

                “Chips? Course we can get chips. I’m pretty sure by the fiftieth century they perfected the making of those, so we’ll go there! Cardiff in the fiftieth century, yes. Well, of course, there’s always the option of taking a quick hop over to the planet of the Oods. Oods are very good at making chips I’ve been told. Never had them, myself, but I suppose we _could_ find out…”

                And on he rambled about planets and species I’d never even heard of, and I simply allowed him to do so, intently listening to every word that poured out of his mouth. The universe, apparently, was filled to the brim with all sorts of amazing creatures and structures and cultures so much different than anything I’d ever dreamed of on Earth. And finally, after about another five minutes of this, he turned back to me and asked, “I don’t know, which sounds best to you, Andy? Do you mind being called Andy? Or would you prefer Andrew?”

                I threw my hands up and shrugged. “I…Andy’s fine, but I don’t really know where to go. You can pick somewhere, I suppose.”

                He excitedly waved me over to the middle of the TARDIS with him. My feet still didn’t quite get the hang of walking properly, so I sort of stumbled quickly over to him, almost falling on the strange part in the process.

                “Okay, we’ll start off simple then. Fiftieth century Cardiff. Nothing bad should happen there…” I looked at him curiously.

                “Do bad things happen a lot around you?” He shot me a grim smile.

                “Generally, yes. I mean amazing things happen. But a lot of bad things.” A wave of empathy crashed over me.

                “Bad things happen around me a lot too.” I replied, thinking of how ridiculous my life had become in the past few weeks. Immediately, a determined look took over his features and he walked right up to me.

                “Why, why do bad things happen around you?” he asked. Startled by the sudden closeness, I couldn’t speak for a moment, but when I found my voice, I found myself spilling everything.

                “Well, ever since I came out as transgender to my mum, nothing’s been good for me, really. She told me unless I started acting like a normal girl again, I couldn’t come back. I’ve been on my own since. I haven’t eaten right in a few days now cause I’ve run out of money…” I trailed off, trying to stop myself from saying any more.

                I waited for him to tell me to leave, tell me to get out and never come back, that he didn’t accept filth like me on his ship, but that didn’t happen. Instead, his hard determined gaze softened to a sad smile, and his hand rose up to lightly caress my cheek.

                “Oh, Andy…” he muttered, “I knew there was a reason I wanted to take you on a trip.” And just like that, he was gone again, jumping around pressing buttons and pulling more levers. “Right, you’ll want to hold onto the console. Time travel gets bumpy.” he explained. I heeded his warning, gripping the ends of the console tightly. “Geronimo!” he cried, and then I realized he wasn’t kidding. Even holding on as tightly as I was, I still managed to fall right on my behind. All the while I was laughing, as was the Doctor. I didn’t even realize I was until we’d come to a stop and I had to catch my breath. “Time travel’s brilliant, isn’t it?” he said. I nodded, pulling myself up.

                “We really just traveled in time?” I asked, not quite believing it. He didn’t answer in words, only pointed to the door with an infectious grin. Hesitantly, I made my way over to the door and opened it, gasping as to what I saw outside. Flying cars seemed to finally happen, and the structures were unlike any buildings I’d ever seen in my own time. What struck me the most, though, was the array of creatures all around. Sure, there were some humans, but there were also a multitude of furry creatures, creatures of all the colors on the rainbow and more, creatures that looked like humans but had tails or wings or both. Some I couldn’t have ever imagined existed. Small red creatures with black spike looking things coming out of them and so much more.

                “Oh my gosh…” I breathed, hardly able to take it all in. I felt a pat on my shoulder and I jumped, turning to find myself right in front of the Doctor again. My voice left me and I simply laughed more, unsure of how to respond to all of this. He laughed as well.

                “Yeah, it can be a bit overwhelming at first. What d’ya say we go get those chips now?” he asked. He’d cleaned up. Must’ve been some weird alien shower in his TARDIS because for how short of a time he wasn’t out here, he was looking good. He was wearing the same type of clothes as before, just not all raggedy and messy. Well, the raggedy part was debatable. He just had that look about him.

 I nodded eagerly, but then my face fell as I noticed his sudden horror. I dared to turn around and saw he was staring at a pair of statues. They were of beautiful, yet somewhat eerie angels who appeared to be weeping. In fact, as I looked around the general area he was staring, I saw there were many more than just two of these same statues.  I turned back to him, ensuring this was indeed what he was gazing at with such terror I’d never seen before. What was so menacing about these statues?

                “Doctor, what’s wrong?” I asked. He stuttered a bit for a moment, running a hand through his hair. His lip trembled and he gulped. Though after that, he seemed to completely regain his composure, smiling and gazing down at me with his usual childish excitement.

                “Nothing, nothing. Just a memory. Nothing to worry about.” I couldn’t help but sense the unease and hesitation in those words, as if he didn’t really believe them, himself. A lump formed in my throat, but I smiled as well, feeling at least mostly safe as long as I was with him. Then I remembered one of the first questions I wanted to ask him.

                “What was that little screwdriver type thing you were messing with next to me at the bus stop?” His features were completely clear of horror as he brought it out. He started to walk away from the statues, and I followed, turning back to them one more time only to find that they were all gone. My heart nearly stopped for a moment and my eyed grew wide. I turned away and forced a simple curious look at the Doctor.

                “Oh, this?” he asked, bringing it out and lighting it up. “It’s my sonic screwdriver! Comes in very handy during…those bad times I told you about…” he said, eyes darting over to where the angels were for a quick moment before straight ahead. “Except when those bad times involve wood. That’s what I was trying to do at the bus stop. Make the damn thing work on wood.” I chuckled.

                “Really? What’s it do specifically?” He smiled his first genuine smile since we caught a glimpse of the angels and started off on an explanation of some things I did understand, some things I couldn’t ever begin to comprehend that it could do. All the way to the restaurant, he talked about his adventures. I didn’t even notice when we finally arrived.

                The building itself was magnificent, but I was focusing less on the architecture, and more on the two angels standing on opposite sides of the top ledge. Both the Doctor and I stopped dead, glimpsed at one another knowingly then back up. The angels had disappeared again. A shiver ran down my spine and through my entire body. I instinctively reached for the Doctor’s hand, grabbing it and holding tightly. He seemed surprised, but didn’t pull away. My face flushed.

                “I, uh, have this thing where physical contact calms me down when I’m really scared or nervous.” I mumbled. He didn’t respond, and as we walked in and took a seat at one of the tables, it was the last time we spoke of the statues while we were in the restaurant, even though we both knew they were standing right outside. One thing was for sure, though. The chips in fiftieth century Cardiff were the best I’d ever eaten. He told me about being a Time Lord, about his home planet, and the war that left him the last of his species. In return, I told him about my life up until meeting him, growing up the way I did being how I am, all the tension in the family even before I came out, and the massive blowup after I came out. I talked about the streets and how I’d met some of the most interesting and also some of the creepiest people ever.

                “If you knew your mum was going to tell you to leave if you came out, why did you?” he asked. I shrugged.

                “Felt like being homeless was better than pretending.”

                “Is it?” I smiled.

                “Well, both are crap, but for different reasons, and I like the reasons for being homeless better than the ones for still living with her.” I explained. He nodded.

                “You’re a brave man, Andy. A very brave man.” I felt my face flush again.

                “’m not, really. Just couldn’t stand trying to be something I’m not anymore.” He grinned.

                “And that’s what makes you so brave. A lot of people in your situation would just sit and take it. Play girl (or boy, if this was the other way around) for a few more years, never really stand up for themselves, which isn’t bad, per say, because some people truly could not handle homeless life and _have_ to do that, but that’s what I mean. You knew you’d end up on the streets but you still pressed forward. You knew you could handle it, and that’s what makes you brave.”

                I laughed a bit. “I’m starting to think less brave, and more stupid.”

                “How come?”

                “I’ve got nothing for me! None of my friends want anything to do with me anymore (not that I had many friends in the first place), my mum probably thinks I’m dead by now, and I’ve got no real talents or skills to show off.” He sighed.

                “Andy, you’ve got everything going for you. You’ve survived this long, which means you’re resourceful, and you’ve got endurance. Those are great skills to have and will definitely come in handy down the road.” I shook my head.

                “Why do you have so much faith in me?”

                “Because I can see it in you that you haven’t given up yet. You act like you have, but in your heart, you’re still thinking that one day you’re going to be amazing, which is silly, really.” I frowned.

                “Why’s it silly?”

                “Because you already are amazing.”

                I had no idea how to respond, so I didn’t. I simply smiled and went back to my food, a new warm feeling inside me.

                After, we walked outside and saw the statues on the opposite building we were near. The Doctor sighed then looked down at me. “This is going to be one of the bad times, I believe. I’m so sorry I’ve gotten you into this.” he said.

                “What do you mean?” I asked, starting to turn towards him.

                “DON’T stop looking at them.” he suddenly almost shouted. I jumped back a bit and looked at the angels again. They were on the ground now. Even worse, the masses of people around this area earlier were all gone. What could’ve happened to them in the span of all but a few seconds? A gut wrenching feeling told me I didn’t want to find out. “They’re weeping angels. They’re quantum locked. They can’t move if you look at them. They’re also incredibly fast, so you can’t even blink around them. Two things can happen if you blink. You either get transported back in time and they feed off the potential energy your life could’ve been in this time, or they move in closer to actually kill you. They’re psychopaths.”

                “Why are they here?” I asked him. Now that he’d told me specifically _not_ to blink, it was harder to keep my eyes open, yet at the same time I was too shocked to move. He sighed again, placing a hand on my shoulder and squeezing reassuringly.

                “They’re after me. I’m so, so sorry you have to be dragged into this. My TARDIS has an immense amount of power for them, and well, all they honestly care about is power. And killing people for fun. I really cannot stress how sorry I am.” I gave him a nervous chuckle.

                “Pfft, don’t be sorry. This is the best time I’ve had in weeks. If not a bit horrifying at this point.” I replied. I swore he smiled at me for a moment, but I couldn’t tear my eyes from the statues that were apparently a _lot_ more than simply statues to see. “So…what’s the plan then?” I asked.

                “I…I’m thinking about that I’m th--” His eyes suddenly grew wide. “—Neither of us has been looking behind us.” he all but whispered. I immediately whipped my body around and screamed in terror as I fell to the ground. Right in front of me an angel stood. Except it wasn’t simply standing with its hand over its eyes as the others were. No, this one had claws that were raised high, ready to slash through me, cold grey eyes, and fangs.

                “Okay, okay, okay don’t panic! Don’t look at its eyes for more than a second, Andy!” he exclaimed, probably not heeding his words, himself. The not panicking part, at least. I was still too stunned to move, to even shiver or express any sign of how absolutely terrified I was.

                “Not that I planned to but why can’t I look them in the eye?” I asked.

                “The eyes are the doors into the soul. They’ll creep in you and take over you from the inside out. You’ll die.”  

                “What do we do?!” I screamed. My answer basically came falling out of the sky. I didn’t dare look to see what the ship was called, but the Doctor seemed pleased with whomever suddenly came jumping down with us.

                “Hello, sweetie.” A voice I didn’t recognize said.

                “River, you wouldn’t happen to know anything about this, would you?” His tone seemed unsurprised. Obviously whoever this woman was, she was known for trouble with him. I heard her laugh.

                “Of course not, darling. I can assume, though, they’re after the TARDIS, though. Just as much as you.” she replied.

                “Okay, then what are you doing here?” he asked.

                “I was dropping in to say hi to an old friend.”

                “Right, right I’m sup--”

                “I THINK WE’VE GOT A BIT MORE PRESSING ISSUES AT HAND, SUCH AS THE ALIENS WANTING TO KILL US.” I yelled, eager to get the hell out of there.

                “Of course, of course. Angels. Right. Uh, well, best bet, start going towards the TARDIS, but, you know, without taking your eyes off them…” He trailed off then, noticing probably the same thing I was starting to notice. The street lamps were starting to flicker. “Run. RUN.” he exclaimed, and I took no time in heeding that advice, bolting away from the spot.

                I didn’t get too far, though, before the lights flickered again and I nearly ran right into an angel. I screamed and abruptly stopped for just a moment before turning and running, only able to hope that the TARDIS wasn’t too far away.

                I heard shouts from both the Doctor and the woman he was with as we ran along. They passed me after a few seconds, not that I was surprised. Even with some food in me, I still wasn’t up to my best game. Therefore it wasn’t a huge surprise, if not utterly terrifying when I tripped and fell over, face planting the ground.

                _This is it,_ I thought. _This is where I die. They’re moving in on me. They have to be._ And there weren’t any doubts about it either this time. Not like when I’d first met the Doctor. God, that had to have been only about two hours ago, yet it felt like a life time. I let out a small whimper, imaging those wide eyed, fanged and clawed things ripping me apart.

                I didn’t die, though.  Instead, I heard the sounds of the TARDIS and I suddenly didn’t feel concrete under me, but glass. I hadn’t even realized my eyes were tight shut until I opened them and stared down into a mix of red and all sorts of wires and cords.

                “Andy? Andy!” I heard my name being called, but I still couldn’t bring myself to speak. I trembled all over and sat up very slowly. As soon as I was fully upright, the woman he called River, who was extremely gorgeous now that I’d finally seen her, was tending to me with a first aid kit.

                “Okay, you didn’t break your nose, that’s good.” she said with a smile. I managed a small one back as she wiped the blood off my face. She gave me some cotton balls after that. “In case it starts bleeding again.” she explained. I nodded.

                “D…Did they leave?” I received my answer of a resounding “no” when I felt the TARDIS being shaken from side to side. I maneuvered myself so I could grip tightly the bottom of the console and hold on for dear life. I didn’t see what was going on above me, but I heard a lot of yelling, buttons being pressed, and levers being pulled.

                “What are we doing?!” I yelled.

                “Trying something I tried a long time ago with these things!” the Doctor responded.

                The door was opening. Bloody hell, the door was _opening._ The worst part was I couldn’t see it. I could only hear it click and open and could only tremble and think _oh my god we’re all going to die here._

                And just like that, the shaking was gone. Well, on the outside. I was trembling so violently, I couldn’t keep hold on the console anymore.

                “Sweetie, what did you do?” River asked. I had the same question.

                “Hopefully just saved our lives and anyone else’s who comes across these statues’ paths.” he replied. No one so much as breathed as he walked to the front of the TARDIS and opened the door. He glanced around a bit then turned to us again. “Well, the streetlights are on and all angels are taken out except one. I can’t see the last one, but we’re not being attacked so I don’t think it’s nearby. That one was probably smart and realized what we were doing, unlike its friends.” he explained.

                I was still hesitant to stand up and go out there, though. “Are…are you sure it’s safe?” A hand was on my shoulder then. I looked up and saw it was River. She gave me a warm, almost motherly gaze (at least more motherly than my _own_ mum ever gave me) and spoke.

                “C’mon up. I’ll go with you. If anything happens, we’ll shut the door right away and leave.” she said. I nodded, but still didn’t move. She stood up first, grabbing my hand and pulling me up. I was still shivering violently all over. She guided me over to the door and I looked outside, eyes widening.

                “But they’re still there!” I shrieked. The Doctor smirked.

                “Yes, but they’re looking at each _other,_ meaning they can never move again.” he said. I laughed. I laughed and I couldn’t stop. I never wanted to stop. I nearly fell over from laughing so hard, and soon enough, River and the Doctor were joining me as well, laughing at the fact that we’d all nearly died horrendous deaths, as morbid as it sounded. Though I supposed considering the circumstances, we were all simply laughing at how impossible that situation should’ve been. I had no idea how we’d gotten out of that. All I knew was that I couldn’t handle something like that again. There was no way. Especially considering that my binder was about ten different kinds of messed up from all that running and falling and screaming and laughing. It was strange, really. Yeah, that was the scariest experience of my life, but one of my main concerns was my binder, even as I could barely grab it to adjust it due to my shaking hands. Soon enough, we all calmed down and went back in the TARDIS to assess anymore damage. While they did the mechanical stuff, I messed around with my chest binder more under my shirt until it was actually decently working again. After I was satisfied with how I looked (or at least how my chest looked), I decided to ask what I’d been wondering since River conveniently dropped in on us.

                “So, who are you then? To the Doctor, I mean.” I asked her. They both grinned at each other.

                “He’s my husband.” My jaw dropped.

                “Okay, out of everything I’ve seen and heard today, that is the craziest. This man? Married? Seriously?” She winked.

                “It’s a long and incredibly complicated story.” She said. He nodded in agreement. I shrugged.

                “In that case, I suppose even if you did try to explain it to me, I wouldn’t understand.” I replied. The Doctor patted my shoulder.

                “Exactly! Now, do you want to go back to your own time, or do you want to stay here? I can tell by the way you’re shaking and your general body language that you don’t want to stay with me, as much as I’d enjoy that.” The tone of his voice almost made me reconsider, but my fear wouldn’t let me. The staying here option was interesting, though.

                “You mean I don’t have to go back? Wouldn’t that…severely mess up the space time continuum or something?” I asked. Both River and the Doctor laughed.

                “Of course not! Looking at you, I can tell you’re not involved in any fixed point events in your time, so you are happy to roam the universe as you please.” he responded. My mouth twitched into a disbelieving smile.

                “Really? Are…are my kind of people accepted here? In this time period?” The Doctor waved his hand as if it was a silly question to ask in the first place.

                “That stopped being a major issue a long time ago. The big issue now is interspecies marriage. Well, it’s actually starting to come to a close. Some of it anyway. Long way to go before actual equality is achieved, which _does_ happen, by the way, just a heads up.” He was off on one of his rants again. This time about social politics. I looked over at River and we both rolled our eyes, but really, we loved it. I especially loved hearing about true equality. It was hard, in my time, to imagine a world without unfair privileges and advantages, but if the Doctor was saying it was true, I believed him. After all, he was a time traveler. What excited me the most was hearing that options for me regarding SRS, hormones, and legal issues were numerous and free considering that where he was going to take me to seem like I’d always lived there, citizenship and birth certificate issues were all going to be taken care of. “So, you’re going to stay here then?” he ended with. The focus was all on me now.

                I tried to think about it as clearly as possible. What was I really abandoning back in the 21st century? What would I really have gone back to? I would’ve still been homeless, an absolute nobody that society didn’t do more than piss on when they were drunk and couldn’t find the toilets. Yet here, I had a chance to be treated as a valuable member of society, as more than just a freak of nature, and I wouldn’t have to save up nearly my entire life in order to feel like myself. It’s not as if I had any real friends in the past. None that’d miss me for longer than a month or two anyway, and I honestly didn’t care what my mum, or any of my other relatives thought if I was gone. So, really, there was no choice.

                “I want to stay.” I told him.

                “Of course you do. I’ve known from the moment I saw you that you’d be meant for so much more than just traveling with me. Now, before you go, I need to ask you something. Do you know why those angels were _really_ after us?” he asked. I raised my brow.

                “Uh, didn’t you say it was for the TARDIS?” I said.

                “Yes, but if they wanted the TARDIS, wouldn’t they have been guarding it the entire time? Making sure no one could get in? Why were they following us the whole time?”

                “I suppose, yeah, but then what were they after?” He was silent for a while after that, only grinning at me like I was the most special person in the entire universe.

                “Because of you. You have the most potential energy in this time period than all of us here.” I snorted and gave him a disbelieving stare.

                “Right, right, right. How can _I_ have the most potential energy for them to feed on?” I asked, seriously doubting this man’s sanity again.

                “Because, Andy, it’s you. It’s you who leads the revolution to full equality. You, along with others like you all around the universe work tirelessly until finally, one day, you win your battles. You win all your battles. You, and anyone else in the world that’s been unjustly oppressed and beaten down in any way. You win, Andy. You actually win, against all odds.” He was giving me that gaze again. That curious yet also awestruck gaze that left me speechless and wide eyed.

                All I managed was a small, “W-What?” in response. He pulled me into his arms and hugged me tightly. After the brief moment I was simply startled, I hugged him back just as tight, even nuzzling him a bit.

                “Oh, Andy. I told you. You’re already amazing, and you’re only going to become even more amazing.” He whispered. We pulled away from each other, but only slightly. He kissed my forehead and smiled down at me. I couldn’t help but return it. I still had no idea what to even say.

                “All right, River--” He started, pulling fully away from me, “Take Andy to Torchwood. They’ll help him out, and I’m assuming that’s how you got here in the first place, or at least have dealt with them somehow since you’ve been here, so I’m sure you’ll need to go again at some point, and now’s just as good a time as any.” He explained. His wife nodded and motioned for me to walk with her. It was my last chance to say anything to him, and I had a feeling I wouldn’t be seeing him again. At least, not for a very, very long time.

                “Thank you, Doctor. Thank you so, so much. I don’t suppose I’ll be seeing you again?” He shook his head.

                “No, probably not.” A smirk then. “But who knows. Time is strange and can twist and turn and do all sorts of ridiculous things. It’s certainly possible, just not probable.” he explained.

                “Well, goodbye then, Doctor.” An overwhelming sadness took over me for a moment, but I just kept going over what he’d said about being amazing, about leading a revolution and I felt…not exactly better, but more all right with the thought of this wonderful man leaving and more than likely never seeing him again.

                “Goodbye, Andy. I’m sure I’ll hear about you soon.” With a wink, he went back into his TARDIS and started it up. River was shaking her head.

                “Still makes that stupid noise. Never learns to turn off the breaks.” she said. I couldn’t help but chuckle a bit. Once the TARDIS was fully out of sight, River wrapped her arm around my shoulders and brought me close, which I really didn’t mind at all.

                “C’mon, you. Time go to get you started on all your ‘potential energy.’” We both laughed and started walking towards to what I assumed to be Torchwood.

                All the way there I kept thinking there was no way I was capable of all the things the Doctor said I was.

                As we went into Torchwood, though, and I explained my situation and received all my tools for creating my new life, I couldn’t help feeling like I was capable of anything I set my mind and heart to.

                


End file.
